


I Want My Tears Back

by images_words



Category: Constantine (TV), Constantine: The Hellblazer (Comics), Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Crossover, Depressed Draco Malfoy, F/F, F/M, Headmistress Minerva McGonagall, I'm Sorry, John Needs A Hug, John Not Coping, M/M, Multi, Self-Harm, Songfic, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-19
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-25 19:27:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,043
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16666846
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/images_words/pseuds/images_words
Summary: In which Hogwarts gets yet another DADA teacher in Harry's eighth year





	1. Chapter 1

"I wonder who's teaching Defense this year," Ron whispered to Harry with a laugh.  
"Shhhh! I think we're about to find out, if you'll be quiet," Hermione scolded him.  
Sure enough, Headmistress McGonagall stood in the same place Dumbledore used to stand. "Welcome to Hogwarts, boys and girls. Now, as most of you know, the Defense Against the Dark Arts teaching position is rumored to be cursed. It is not a curse, of course, just a... run of bad luck. However, this does mean that we will be getting a new teacher this year. I'd like to welcome John Constantine to Hogwarts, and I hope you will all treat him with the same respect as you do the rest of us."  
The man sitting beside McGonagall stood up, a bit reluctantly. He was about 6 feet tall, with blond hair and intense brown eyes. He was dressed rather casually, in a trenchcoat, dress pants, and a white button-down shirt, untucked, with the top two buttons undone, his red tie loose around his neck.   
"That's him?" Ron muttered incredulously. "He looks like a Muggle."  
"Give him a chance, Ron," said Harry. "Think about it this way: he can't possibly be worse than Lockhart."

 

"Hello, and welcome to Defense Against the Dark Arts. I am Professor John Constantine. But please, don't ever call me that. From now on, it's just Constantine. Got it? Good." Constantine snapped his fingers and a small flame appeared, which he used to light a cigarette before clenching his hand around the fire to extinguish it.  
"Excuse me, sir, you can't smoke on school grounds," Parvati Patil piped up.  
"Ah. Yes. Tell me your name, love."  
"Parvati... Parvati Patil."  
"Parvati. Lovely name. Anyway, Parvati, thank you for bringing up a very important point, that point being that I will smoke wherever I bloody well please. Now, let's move on to the good stuff, shall we? This year, we're going to be dipping into some darker areas of magic. Not _the_ darker areas; those are strictly forbidden, and even I wouldn't dabble in the Dark Arts. Well, except for that one time I summoned a demon. Well, three times. But I was much younger then. And dying of cancer. You know what, forget I ever mentioned it. How many of you have ever successfully performed wandless magic?"  
A few students raised their hands, Harry included. Constantine nodded thoughtfully.  
"That's more than I expected, actually. Wonderful. By the end of this year, none of you are going to need wands. I never use one, myself. I find it just complicates matters." He took off his coat and rolled up his sleeves, revealing tattoos of various magical and religious symbols, as well as dozens of scars, some thick and raised and red, some thin, white and barely noticeable.  
"Bloody Hell, what happened to him?" Ron muttered. "Should I ask him?"  
"Don't ask him."  
"I'm gonna ask him. Sir- er, Constantine! What happened to your arms?"  
Constantine seemed to be caught off guard, but he recovered quickly. "Don't worry about it, love. You there! Blondie with the green tie. See me after class."  
Harry turned to see Draco Malfoy seeming to shrink in on himself. He had to wonder what it was about Malfoy that had caught Constantine's attention. But he quickly forgot about that, as they started to delve into the world of wandless magic.


	2. Chapter 2

On his second day of teaching, Constantine was running late. The other students didn't seem to care, but Draco Malfoy had found himself looking forward to seeing the eccentric professor again.   
"Sorry I'm late, loves. Lost track of time. So, where were we?"  
Luna Lovegood raised her hand. "You were going to teach us the Patronus Charm."  
"Ah, yes. I did say that, didn't I? I'm afraid that may have been somewhat misleading... _I_ am not going to be the one teaching this particular lesson. The Patronus Charm is not my forte, and you all deserve to be taught it by the very best. I am pleased to announce that the Chosen One himself, Mr. Harry Potter, has offered to teach this lesson. I will say now, you _are_ going to need your wands today! Harry, up front. Draco, with me."   
Draco followed Constantine to his desk at the back of the room. "Have I done something wrong?"  
"No, of course not. After our talk yesterday, I wasn't sure if you'd be comfortable participating in this lesson. If you'd like to try, you're perfectly welcome."  
"I'd rather not... I don't want to embarrass myself in front of Harry," Draco admitted, blushing slightly. Constantine laughed.  
"I figured as much."  
"I do have one question... what made you think to ask me if I thought I could do it?"  
"Well, I've heard of your family, sweetheart. Everyone has. I had a pretty good idea of what your life has been like, and that doesn't exactly allow for a surplus of happy memories. Plus, I was just gettin' that vibe. I've learned to recognize it."  
"How?"  
"Because I've been in your position. I didn't exactly have a happy childhood. Wanna know a secret? To this day, I've never been able to produce a Patronus. There's no shame in it. The only ones who should be ashamed are the people who made your life that miserable."  
"What if I'm in love with one of them?"  
"Draco. Listen to me. This is very important. You can't let this eat away at you. You've got to either let Harry go, or tell 'im how you feel. Holdin' this inside... it'll only make things worse. Trust me, love. I've been there."

 

"Constantine?"  
Constantine looked up. "Draco. Do you need something, love?"  
"Actually, I... I came to see how you were doing. You've been looking after me since you got here.... figured I ought to return the favor."  
Constantine raised an eyebrow. "Oh?"  
"I just... I noticed your scars yesterday, and.... you've got bandages on your arms now. I just wanted to make sure you were alright."  
"To be quite honest, I'm not. But that's the story of my life, love. Don't worry about me."  
"Of course. I'm sorry."  
"Don't apologize, sweetheart. I appreciate it, I do. But don't waste your time worrying. I'm used to it."


End file.
